The final routing for the joint SHINING/TAAKE European tour set to take place this winter has been confirmed, with four additional dates being added. The tour is part of a series of live appearances to mark the 20th Anniversary of NIKLAS KVARFORTH’s SHINING. Joining these two titans of the stage on the tour will be TAAKE’s Dark Essence Records label-mates SLEGEST.

The pairing of two such iconic bands will provide an interesting mix for fans, with SHINING’s DSBM roots matched with TAAKE’s Norwegian Black Metal roots. Over the years both bands have taken the basic premises of their respective genres, and, whilst remaining true to them, have consistently kept them fresh by expanded and experimenting, sometimes taking them in directions that have surprised fans, but always maintaining the highest quality in terms of writing and musicianship. Both Kvarforth and Hoest are, in fact, acknowledged to be two of the most dynamic live performers today.

Whilst the name SLEGEST is perhaps not as familiar to fans as SHINING and TAAKE, the band has been earning rave reviews both for their studio output and for their live performances, earning them an ever-increasing fan base. In the wake of his departure from VREID, where he played guitar on four of the iconic band’s albums, Ese formed SLEGEST in 2010, and the band has since then perfected a special blend of classic heavy rock and old-school black metal that is both dark and sinister, whilst being propelled along by a down and dirty groove that is immediate and catchy. The band’s second full-length album will be released in November on Dark Essence Records.

The pairing of two such iconic bands will provide an interesting mix for fans, with SHINING’s DSBM roots matched with TAAKE’s Norwegian Black Metal roots. Over the years both bands have taken the basic premises of their respective genres, and, whilst remaining true to them, have consistently kept them fresh by expanding and experimenting, sometimes taking them in directions that have surprised fans, but always maintaining the highest quality in terms of writing and musicianship. Both Kvarforth and Hoest are, in fact, acknowledged to be two of the most exciting and dynamic live performers today.

In a statement issued today, SHINING founder and frontman Niklas Kvarforth confirmed that the band had reached an agreement with former label, Spinefarm Records, that would see the label re-releasing three of SHINING’s recordings, which, according to Kvarforth, “have all been unavailable for a few years due to several “inconvenient” matters”.

The frontman went on to say: “SHINING’s seventh full-length album “VII / Född Förlorare” and the “Lots Of Girls Gonna Get Hurt” EP will both appear in CD and Limited Edition vinyl formats, with the vinyl formats having one additional track each.

“But the best news of all is that “Redefining Darkness” will once again be available to those who missed out on its short-lived presence on the record market. The album will be available in both deluxe DIGIPAK and VINYL editions”.

The deluxe digipak edition of “Redefining Darkness”, and the vinyl editions of all three of the re-releases, have been re-mastered by Andy La Rocque at the Sonic Train Studios, and are now available to pre-order, along with new merchandise and bundles from www.shininglegions.com

NIKLAS KVARFORTH’s “When Prozac No Longer Helps” is set to be published in French by the Camion Noir Publishing House on the 19th of January. The French edition, titled “Quand Le Prozac Ne Suffit Plus”, contains the lyrics to SHINING’s songs and follows on the heels of the English and Turkish translations. With a cover photo by Natasha Mediator of Haste Malaise Photography, “Quand Le Prozac Ne Suffit Plus” is available from http://www.camionnoir.com/

Having tired of the shambolic, and mostly completely inaccurate translations of his lyrics that can be found on the internet, Kvarforth translated the texts from the original Swedish into English and published the first edition of “When Prozac No Longer Helps”, which sold out virtually immediately and is now in its third edition. The availability of the English translation of SHINING’s lyrics opened up the way for other publishers who showed an interest in translating the work into their own languages.

As always, though, Kvarforth has exacting standards when it comes to all things SHINING, and chooses his collaborators with care. For the French Edition he chose to work with long-time friend Nicolas Castelaux, who, in the ’90’s, earned notoriety as the “Vampire of Paris”. Having served a twelve year sentence Casatelaux went on to establish Camion Noir, a publishing house that specialises in the Occult, Dark History and True Crime. The two met up recently during the band’s recent French tour and Kvarforth agreed to the publication on the condition that Castelaux himself handled the translation.

Like this:

Following the announcement by Sweden’s SHINING that going forward they would be eschewing the usual practice of dragging bands on lengthy tours through several countries in favour of shorter tours on a country-by-country basis, the band have now completed booking European dates for the rest of this year and are able to announce their full “touring” schedule between September and the end of 2015.

During this period SHINING will visit a total of nine countries in support of their critically acclaimed ninth full-length album “IX / Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends”. A special double gatefold edition of the album, in black and white marble vinyl, strictly limited to 300 copies, will be available for sale exclusively on the tour.

SHINING frontman and founder NIKLAS KVARFORTH previously explained the reason behind the band’s decision not to spend long periods of time on the road: “Basically we want to be able to give our audience the best show possible each time we are on stage. And weeks on the road stuck on a cramped, uncomfortable nightliner, with people you don’t even know and with no privacy in which to be able to rest and relax, is not conducive to any of us being able to give it our best on stage, particularly myself. So that’s something we will definitely not be doing. We have also decided that we do not want to be shunted into the usual venues that every tour seems to hit, but rather to choose to play better venues, with better facilities not only for ourselves, but also for the audience, wherever possible”.

Mexico, Sweden and Spain have been added to the list of countries that NIKLAS KVARVORTH’S SHINING will visit in support of the release of the band’s ninth full-length album “IX / Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends”. An additional show to the already-announced Netherlands date has also been added. Having recently announced their decision to play a series of dates in individual countries, as opposed to one long tour, SHINING’s live schedule is as follows, with more countries to be announced at a later date:

SHINING frontman and founder NIKLAS KVARFORTH explained the reason behind the band’s decision not to spend long periods of time on the road: “Basically we want to be able to give our audience the best show possible each time we are on stage. And weeks on the road stuck on a cramped, uncomfortable nightliner, with people you don’t even know and with no privacy in which to be able to rest and relax, is not conducive to any of us being able to give it our best on stage, particularly myself. So that’s something we will definitely not be doing. We have also decided that we do not want to be shunted into the usual venues that every tour seems to hit, but rather to choose to play better venues, with better facilities not only for ourselves, but also for the audience, wherever possible”.

In addition to the series of individual SHINING will also be playing at various festivals during the year. Confirmed appearances so far are:

Sweden’s SHINING has added more countries to its 2015 touring schedule, with a return to Italy in November, and the band’s first ever visit to Russia in December. With SHINING’s new touring policy of concentrating on dates in individual countries as opposed long treks through several countries at a time, and shows in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany already announced, the band’s confirmed dates in support of their ninth full-length album “IX / Everyone, Everything, Everywhere, Ends” currently stands as follows:

SHINING frontman and founder NIKLAS KVARFORTH explained the reason behind the band’s decision not to spend long periods of time on the road: “Basically we want to be able to give our audience the best show possible each time we are on stage. And weeks on the road stuck on a cramped, uncomfortable nightliner, with people you don’t even know and with no privacy in which to be able to rest and relax, is not conducive to any of us being able to give it our best on stage, particularly myself. So that’s something we will definitely not be doing. We have also decided that we do not want to be shunted into the usual venues that every tour seems to hit, but rather to choose to play better venues, with better facilities not only for ourselves, but also for the audience, wherever possible”.

In addition to the series of individual SHINING will also be playing at various festivals during the year. Confirmed appearances so far are: